“A succinct and successful summary of the past, present and future of this surprisingly busy desert.� - Michael Palin
Saudi Arabia: A Portrait of Life Behind the Sand Curtain.
Outline Foundations: Sand or Stone?
Life Behind the Sand Curtain
The Kingdom’s Future
Foundations: Sand or Stone?
Population - 27 million (inc. 7 million non-Saudis)
Capital - Riyadh (pop. 6.8 million)
Size - 2,149,690 sq km (830,000 sq mi)
GDP (2010 est) - $438 billion - $16,765 per person
Hashemite Prince Faisal, later King of Iraq
Alec Guinness as Faisal
Faisal’s father, Sharif Sayyid Hussein Emir of Mecca, Sultan of the Hijaz
- started the anti-Ottoman Arab Revolt (1916-1918)
- which was supported by Britain
Abdul-Aziz bin Saud, or Ibn Saud founder of Saudi Arabia
1744 - alliance between Muhammad ibn Saud and Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab
1890 - Saudis exiled by al-Rashids
1925 - Sauds take Mecca, forcing Sharif Hussein out of Hijaz
ends 700 years of Hashemite rule in region
1932 - Kingdom of Saudi Arabia founded
ﺍﳌﻤﻠﻜﺔ ﺍﻟﻌﺮﺑﻴﺔ ﺍﻟﺴﻌﻮﺩﻳﺔ literally, the Saudi Arab Kingdom
King Abdul Aziz (1876-1953)
Life Behind the Sand Curtain
The mysterious Orient?
Islam Terrorism Women Oil
Islam
" ﻣﺤﻤﺪ ﺭﺳﻮﻝ ﺍﷲ, "ﻻ ﺇﻟﻪ ﺇﻻ ﺍﷲ “There is no God but God, Muhammad is the Prophet of God.” - the Shahada
The Wahhabi or Salafist form of Islam - named after Muhammad ibn Abd al-Wahhab - eighteenth century religious reformer - sought to return to “pure” Islam of 7th century
1979 - Siege of Mecca
1990s - Rise of al-Qaeda
Terrorism
Women
Just 6% of the country’s workforce
Oil
Blessing or Curse?
1938 - discovery of oil
1973 - oil embargo
- world’s largest oil exporter
- accounts for more than 90% of exports
- 75% of government revenues
The Kingdom’s Future
t or t?
50% of Saudi Arabians are under 16 years of age
Tourism
Trade
“The King is dead. Long Live the King”
Heads of the House of Saud (since 1932, Kings of Saudi Arabia) Abdul Aziz, known as Ibn Sa’ud 1876-1953 (r. from 1902) - 51 years Ibn Sa’ud, 1902 - 1969 (r. 1953 - 1964) - 9 years Faisal b. 1906 (r. 1964 - 1975) - 11 years Khalid b. 1912 (r. 1975 - 1982) - 7 years Fahd, b. 1921 (r. 1982 - 2005) - 23 years Abdullah b. 1923 (r. 2005 - to date)
Absolute Islamic Monarchy
- King Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, 88 years old
- Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz, 87 years old
- next four in line all in their 80s
King Fahd’s grave
Saud family numbers between 7,000 - 25,000
Friends and neighbours
Abdul Aziz and President Roosevelt, 14 February 1945 - Great Bitter Lake
Popular unrest - the response
- $10.7 billion in handouts
- 15% pay raise for public sector workers
- release of economic fraud prisoners
- no scheduled political reform
Thank you, or as we say in Arabic,
ﺷﻜﺮﺍ (shukran!)
“A well-written book that armchair and desert travellers will appreciate. Explorers should certainly have a copy in their libraries.� - Colonel John Blashford-Snell, OBE